The startup story of a Muong guy: If you don't dare to do it, poverty will not let you go

On his entrepreneurial journey, despite many failures, Muong man Bui Van Tu in Ngoc Trao commune, Thanh Hoa province was determined to stand up and start over and reap success.

If you do not dare to do, poverty will never let you go.

In the barn at the foot of Thach Cu village, Ngoc Trao commune, Thanh Hoa province, the sound of goats bleating and bamboo rats gnawing echoed throughout the hills. Bui Van Tu (born in 1988), a Muong ethnic boy with tanned skin, began the story with the saying: "If you don't dare to work, poverty will never let you go."

Tu's childhood was filled with cassava-based meals and sleepless nights due to poverty. In 2006, despite being eligible to enter university, Tu was forced to give up his dream of attending university.

“Our family was poor, my father was sick, and my mother had to support several children. I couldn’t bear to make her work harder, so I decided to drop out of school and stay home to help the family,” Tu recalls.

Bui Van Tu at his family's economic development model. Photo by Quynh Tram

In the following years, he worked for hire everywhere while studying at a secondary school and then at a university in finance and accounting. The biggest thing Tu brought with him when leaving school was not his degree, but his desire to escape poverty and his dream of becoming rich in his homeland.

Returning to his hometown, Tu participated in the Youth Union and held the position of Secretary of the Commune Youth Union (at that time, Thanh An Commune). Along with the movement, he started a business on more than 1 hectare of family land by raising cows, goats, sows and growing sugarcane.

But due to lack of experience and limited capital, crops and livestock continuously fell ill and failed. At one point, Tu was almost penniless.

“There were times when I felt discouraged, but I told myself that if I gave up, I would always be poor. So I continued,” he said with a smile.

The turning point came in 2022, when Tu attended a training course on livestock farming techniques organized by the District Youth Union. During the field trip, he was convinced by the model of raising bamboo rats - a rodent species with high economic value.

Seeing that, Tu took advantage of the old cage to start with 6 pairs of breeding rats. On weekends, he traveled around the provinces to learn experience and explore new breeding techniques.

In early 2024, having accumulated capital and experience, Tu boldly invested more than 500 million VND to build a modern barn, controlling the temperature and humidity suitable for the bamboo rats. Currently, the farm raises about 150 bamboo rats for breeding and 20 commercial bamboo rats, bringing in hundreds of millions of VND in revenue.

In addition, he planted 2 hectares of acacia, sugarcane, corn and more than 200 bamboo shoots - both as food for bamboo rats and to sell goods to the market.

Tu's bamboo rat farm currently has nearly 200 bamboo rats. Photo: Quynh Tram

Passing on the 'fire' of entrepreneurship to young people in mountainous areas

Not only enriching himself, Bui Van Tu also spreads the entrepreneurial spirit to many local youths. He is currently the Chairman of Thanh An Economic Development Youth Club - a gathering place for many like-minded ethnic minority youths.

The club has raised a loan fund of more than 80 million VND, supporting many models of raising goats, bees, chickens... helping each household have a stable income of about 120 million VND/year.

Tu also co-manages a community group on social networks, where members share farming techniques and connect with consumers for products. In the upcoming plan, he wants to form a chain of links between households - from providing breeds, technical support to product consumption, expanding to many farming models suitable for mountainous conditions.

“As long as you dare to think, dare to do, keep the faith and do not surrender to fate, then every path can lead to success,” Tu said.

The image of a resilient young man standing up after many failures and successes has motivated many ethnic minority and mountainous youth on their journey to start a business.

Quynh Tram

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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-dai-hoc-chang-trai-nguoi-muong-thanh-thu-linh-khoi-nghiep-2442711.html